(continued from previous post)
For our good: There is an age-old question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Recently I attended an event where a quadriplegic woman spoke. She was absolutely amazing and motivating to listen to for the hour we had. Her take-home message was "I love my life!" This shocked me.
It seemed unbelievable when you think of all the things that she COULD NOT DO. But she was sincere and honest and straightforward. She had come to a point in her life where she could find humor in places where she might have wanted to cry. She shared a dream she had one night, which touched me deeply. She was sitting in heaven with another person in a pre-mortal setting, going through a book that showcased her life. It showed her that she would be a quadriplegic, and she was EXCITED. She was overjoyed to learn what her challenges would be and her opportunity to overcome them.
Her perspective helped me greatly. What if my challenges in this life were tailored to fit my exact needs? What if my struggles were the only things that challenged me to grow, stretch, develop to a higher plane?
What if I experienced what my neighbor experienced and I breezed through the test? How much growth would happen? None.
I collect nuggets of truth -- and listening to that quadriplegic woman added another nugget of truth to my life. We are given what we need. As unpleasant as things can be, as heart-rending, as painful, as soul-searching . . . . we are given what we need. We don't always understand the Why's, but when you come to get a small glimpse of the God who loves us, we begin to trust Him that He knows the Why. He does. He knows us that intimately.
I discovered another thing about God from the title page of the Book of Mormon. Moroni wrote, "that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever." Covenants must be linked to our way back 'home'. Since Moroni was writing by way of commandment, this tells me that God knew we would get off His covenant path, that we needed a way back. This record was to help us remember and re-learn what we must have known before we ever arrived on this earth.
This tells me that God is not leaving our development here on earth to chance, that is . . . unless we choose it to be that way. He did not just let us out the door to figure things out on our own. By our own choices, we separate ourselves from God. He knew this was inevitable and put things in place for us, to help us along our mortal journey, if we choose to seek. Covenants are two-way promises. The Book of Mormon helps us discover what those promises are -- our Promises to Him and His promises to us.
God has a plan for us. God has put things in place for us to not only return, but to return fully developed. If he wanted us to learn of His covenants, they must help us along the way. If we didn't come to earth to become a better person, why did we leave in the first place? We don't send our children off to school so they can come back the same. We want them to learn, to gain knowledge and wisdom, to grow and develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, to reason and analyze, to think for themselves and gain confidence in their abilities. Isn't God the same type of parent? Doesn't he expect us to return home more developed?
The God I worship has a plan for us -- He has provided covenants for us to fully access His power as we sojourn here on Earth.
